Chris Mullin’s St. John’s boss finds a reason to believe.

Anton Goff is as surprised and disappointed as everyone in and around the St. John’s program. He expected the talk at this time of the year to be about contending for the NCAA Tournament, not how to fix this sinking Red Storm ship. But the St. John’s athletic director also sees light at the end...

Time: 18:14&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp Date: 23.01.2018

But the St. John’s athletic director also sees light at the end of the tunnel where others may see an oncoming train. He still believes Chris Mullin can lead the team back to prominence despite what he described as a “slight step back.”

“Everybody’s frustrated,” Goff told The Post in a phone interview. “What I feel good about is I don’t think the coaching staff or the team have quit. If you look at the games we’re playing, we’re shorthanded, but we’re fighting. I have been impressed by the staff and the team continuing to fight.

“Hopefully, this makes us a better program in the future,” said Goff, who became St. John’s athletic director in November 2017 after a two and a half year stint at Hartford following stops at power-five programs Michigan State and Maryland in supporting roles.

Ah, the future. St. John’s (10-10, 0-8 Big East) will be adding six players to next season’s roster, a strong group led by four-star forward J’Raan Brooks and sit-out transfers Sedee Keita (South Carolina) and Mikey Dixon (Quinnipiac). Depth, a major problem this year with just eight healthy scholarship players, shouldn’t be an issue. Neither should size, as the 6-foot-9 Keita, 6-foot-8 Brooks and 6-foot-9 freshman Josh Roberts join the program.

A major question will be the composition of the coaching staff, which has become a point of emphasis among the fan base. The only member with any college experience is primary recruiter Matt Abdelmassih. Many have pointed to the lack of experience as the reason for the team’s struggles late in games and its poor shot selection.

Goff was noncommittal about any changes, expressing confidence in the staff and saying it is “doing a good job,” but said everything would be on the table.

Marcus LoVettPaul J. Bereswill

“Me and Chris will sit down and discuss the entire program [after the season],” Goff said, “and we’ll go from there.”

Goff also addressed the LoVett situation. The sophomore point guard sustained a sprained MCL on Nov. 26 and hasn’t played since. An All-Big East second-team preseason selection, LoVtt was ruled day-to-day until his father announced on Twitter he was done for the season on Jan. 10, surprising the staff. LoVett underwent a pair of MRI exams on the knee, both of which showed no structural damage. A month before the announcement by his father, LoVett was cleared medically by doctors to begin practicing, but kept complaining about the knee.

“We were transparent with it,” Goff said. “The rehab didn’t progress like we thought it would.”